“Do you expect unpleasantness?”
“Oh, certainly. That is almost guaranteed. But that is not why I am uneasy about this visit.”
“Why then?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s that everything related to my first wife’s death puts me in a bad mood. Or maybe it is because I have the feeling we may uncover more than anticipated.”
Olivia wove their fingers together. “We can leave. You don’t need to talk to her if you don’t want to.”
“That is out of the question. We came all this way, and I want to find answers. Don’t mind my moods.”
“Then don’t worry. Whatever we uncover, I’ll be by your side to support you. Together, nothing will be more than we can handle.”
He squeezed her hand and took it to his lips for a kiss. “Thank you Livvy. You are the best thing that’s happened to me. Let’s go then.”
They got directions from the innkeeper and set off for the farmhouse. It wasn’t far away, just about five miles outside of town, and the trip there in the small curricle they rented from the inn proved pleasant and easy. Really, if it wasn’t for the tension churning inside him, the drive would be idyllic.
The road, set among fields of lavender, was the type of picture-perfect landscape adored by painters. Olivia had brought her phone, but having been far away from the car for several days meant it was almost out of power. She was able to snap a couple of pictures, though, especially of the house when it came into view.
It was the quintessential stone farmhouse with the blue shutters so typical of Provence, but big. A lot bigger than he had expected.
“This might have been a farm in the past. But it is definitely not a farm now,” he said.
“How do you know?” Olivia asked, turning an inquisitive glance his way.
“Because, darling, managing an estate such as mine involves knowing a lot about farming, and this is not a working farm. There are no animals, farming tools, barns, threshing halls, or any evidence of labor. All the grounds are decorative. And the house is much grander than a simple farm would be. This place is a country mansion masquerading as a farm. Very charming, but that means the owner must have other sources of income to maintain it.”
“I see. Even more puzzling. Well, we might discover soon enough the source of Ninette’s wealth.”
“I hope so.”
They approached the house with no one intercepting them. Dale maneuvered the small carriage with ease to park it right in front of the main door, then leaped down, tied the horses and went to the other side to help Olivia down.
Still, no one had come out of the house to greet them. Either the house did not have many servants or they were poorly trained. He mentally shrugged. It was to his advantage. He preferred the element of surprise when dealing with Ninette.
He brandished the simple iron knocker, and the sound reverberated loud throughout the house. Almost as loud as his heart. He couldn’t explain why this meeting should make him nervous, but it did. A few moments passed before they heard hurried footsteps inside. Then the door was thrown open by Ninette herself.
Dale had only a second to register how her eyes widened and the blood drained from her face before she tried to shut the door in his face.
He reacted just quick enough to block the door.
She shrieked. “Go away! I will scream. I will call for help and people will come to my aid!”
Dale’s fury rose at her extreme overreaction, but he tamped it down. She was obviously nearly hysterical. It would not help things if he lost his patience. “Ninette, calm down! I’m not here to harm you. I just want to talk to you.”
“I have nothing to say to you. Go now! And don’t you ever come back or...” She grappled for a threat big enough to use against a Duke “Or I’ll shoot you and then claim you assaulted me.”
“Stop talking nonsense, woman!” Dale finally had enough and easily pushed the door open all the way. “I just want to talk to you for a few moments and then I’ll go away. I have come all the way here and will not leave until we have spoken.”
“How did you find me?” Ninette backed up a few steps to grab a fireplace poker, and she brandished it against them as he stepped through the threshold. The woman was unhinged.
Before Dale could answer, he heard rapid footsteps approaching from the back of the house and a familiar voice calling, “Nina! Are you all right? I heard a scream.”
No. It couldn’t be. His blood froze. His breathing ceased. He had no time to prepare before the other woman burst into the room and stopped, her eyes fixing on Dale and widening in agonizing shock and horror. The small pottery vase she was carrying dropped to the floor, the noise it made as it shattered loud and discordant in the tense silence. His tortured mind whirled, trying to assimilate what he was seeing.
Eloise.
